Picture #1: You wouldn’t do this...No, Of course you wouldn’t pour water into the gas tank of such a lovely, expensive car. That would be ridiculous, crazy. But what about the priceless machine called the human body? It will only take so much punishment, you know. Scientists have been sounding ominous warnings about cholesterol levels, the use of tobacco and alcohol, nervous tension, and obesity. Why press your luck? The hospitals and mental institutions are already packed with people who have ignored the rules of the human body. Why insist upon joining them? Somebody cares how you treat your body machine (somebody bigger than you and I). More may be involved here than you have dared to imagine. Lieutenant James Cook opened a small black box containing his instructions from the British Admiral and read them in silence. “Hmm! Rather tall order, I’d say!” he said at last. “You are to take three astronomers from the Royal Society to Tahiti in order to view the passage of Venus between the earth and the sun, which is to take place June 3, 1769. While there, you are to make friends of the natives and draw maps and descriptions of the islands.” “That part should be easy,” commented Cook, who had recently surveyed the St. Lawrence and mapped Newfoundland. “After the scientists are finished in Tahiti, you are to open the set of sealed instruction in the black box. All the time you are gone you are to look after your crew’s health and keep your ship safe.” “That’s going to be the hard part,” Cook shook his head. Besides 11 passengers, he had been given a crew of 83; twice the number needed to sail a ship the size of the Endeavour. In those days it was expected that more than half the crew would die of scurvy or other perils of the voyage. “There will be strict health rules on this ship!” Cook told the assembled crew. “The ship must be kept spotlessly clean and well aired. Everyone is to drink lots of water. You are to eat fresh fruits or vegetables every day. You will be issued a daily dose of lemon juice to prevent scurvy. We have a goat on board to supply us with fresh milk daily.” As a result of Cook’s health rules, 56 of the 95 returned home safely. Their three-year journey took them around the world; they explored Tahiti, New Zealand, and Australia. Compare that with Magellan’s voyage. He started with five ships and 277 men. Only one ship, with 18 men, returned to Spain. The ratio of survival was six men out of a hundred. On Cook’s voyage 60 out of a hundred survived, ten times as high a ratio. Open your Bibles to 1 Corinthians 10:31, “Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” God wants us all to be healthy and happy. That’s why He gives us health rules. When we break those rules we will surely suffer. Picture #2: There are 8 basic laws of health. I remember them by the acronym NEWSTART.